Reliance Retail to buy cash & carry wholesaler Metro India for Rs 2,850cr

Reliance Retail Ventures, an arm of Reliance Industries, will acquire Metro Cash & Carry India (Metro India), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Germany-based Metro AG, for Rs 2,850 crore, to further strengthen its new commerce business.

The acquisition will also increase Reliance Retail’s store footprint across India with the addition of Metro India’s multi-category large format stores situated across key cities and a wide supplier network.

Metro India currently operates 31 cash and carry stores under the Metro brand across 21 cities in India.

With approximately 3,500 employees, the multi-channel B2B cash & carry wholesaler has more than three million B2B customers in the country.

Isha Ambani — Reliance Retail Ventures Director said: “The acquisition of Metro India aligns with our new commerce strategy of building a unique model of shared prosperity through active collaboration with small merchants and enterprises.

“Metro India is a pioneer and key player in the Indian B2B market and has built a solid multi-channel platform delivering strong customer experience.

“We believe that Metro India’s healthy assets combined with our deep understanding of Indian merchant / kirana ecosystem will help offer a differentiated value proposition to small businesses in India.”

Metro India, which forayed into the Indian market in 2003, reported sales of Rs 7,700 crore (€926 million) for the financial year ended September 2022.

Dr Steffen Greubel — Metro AG CEO said: “With Metro India, we are selling a growing and profitable wholesale business in a very dynamic market at the right time.

“We are convinced that in Reliance we have found a suitable partner who is willing and able to successfully lead Metro India into the future in this market environment.”

The transaction is anticipated to close by March 2023, subject to certain regulatory and customary closing conditions.